A wolf snaps its fangs around a warrior’s neck and pulls them to the ground. They kick and scream but it’s no use. Blood bubbles from the warrior’s mouth, and the beast pulls away with a meaty chunk of their throat.
I turn to Kyron, pushing a sweat-soaked strand of hair away from his face. “I love you.”
“Raelle?”
“I won’t hide while they fight, even if it is useless,” I say.
He brings my palm to his lips and closes his eyes, inhaling the scent of my skin. His thumb rubs over my wrist in gentle strokes. I concentrate on that feeling, letting it calm me. When he looks at me again, I’m met with pure determination. “Just promise you will stay by my side the entire time.”
I kiss his cheek. “I won’t leave you.”
Together, we step into the battle.
I draw upon the gift of a nearby Electro. A leopard pins them to the ground, crushing them under their enormous paw. The cat bares its fangs and bends toward their neck, and I shoot a bolt of lightning through it. It roars and falls away from its prey, convulsing from the shock.
My world becomes a kaleidoscope of powers and death. The powers I wield tangle an eagle in the branches of a tree, stab a canine with stakes of ice, and the earth swallows a feline. I fight and fight with Kyron at my side. He never leaves, battling with fire and shadows. But it’s not enough.
I may stand until the end, but the victory will not be ours.
The Allaji will decimate our armies.
Jumping from one gift to another takes its toll on me. I don’t want to drain any of our people, but I’m not used to moving so rapidly from one element to the next. My arms struggle to remain before me and my vision blurs at the edges. The powers of the Ignita and Pianti I control falters, and I drop to my knees.
“Raelle?” Kyron looks down at me, and the flame he uses to keep a bird at bay extinguishes.
A raven swoops in like a gloomy spirit of death and knocks him to his back.
I scramble to my hands and knees and crawl to get to him. Only I don’t make it far before I meet the steely gaze of a massive cat. It hunchesdown and prowls toward me. I stare into its glowing lime eyes and come to terms with my fate.
This is how I die, shredded to ribbons.
A bird squawks, and I turn my face to the predawn sky. The hawk from earlier calls out as it circles the camp, and the other animals fall silent, listening to the constant screech. When the hawk stops its noise, the shifters race for camp’s exit. Some grab a Lucent or Stigian as a trophy, dragging them away while they kick and scream. I struggle to strike down their retreating forms, but it’s no use. They disappear as quickly as they invaded, ending our bloody battle with the Allaji.
Fifteen
Ibite down on the pillow under me and squeeze Leif’s hand.
“Okay, let’s not shatter my fingers, or I’ll end up in a hospital bed next to you,” he grunts, wiggling against my grip.
“Your Grace, we’ve already sent word to Sara, requesting the assistance of healers. Perhaps you should wait for them to arrive,” the medic leaning over my back says.
Raising my head, I breathe through the pain and take in the chaotic scene unfolding around me. Every one of the hundred and twelve beds in the medical facility are occupied. Men and women cradling shredded limbs and paling with the loss of blood. Some have passed from this life as they waited for the overwhelmed medical staff to reach them. Steel tools clatter, rushing steps pound the floor, and the wounded wail. It’s horrific.
My voice is gravelly as it pushes through my dry throat. “No. It will take hours for them to arrive from Sara. When the healers get here, they are to help those with the most critical wounds first. I can handle this.”
“As you wish, Your Grace,” the woman says, pushing the needle and thread in her hand through my skin.
This isn’t what I wish. I want to return outside and help gather our dead, but Kyron wouldn’t hear it. As soon as Leif found me and pulled me into a hug, the prince had an unobstructed view of the dirty, angry claw marksdown my back. Kyron ordered Leif to escort me to the medical facility and ignored my protests. It pissed me off that he wouldn’t listen, but the moment I laid on the bed, my anger morphed into searing pain.
The three slices down my back were showing signs of infection after the battle, and one lesion was so deep it wouldn’t stop bleeding. The medic—a small, middle-aged woman with salt and pepper hair—sets to work with steady hands. Every needle prick and pull of the thread brings a rush of nausea, and all I can do is breathe through the pain.
Leif runs a gentle hand over my face, pushing back the hair plastered to my cheeks. “She’s almost done, Elle.”
I nod and rest my head on the pillow damp with my sweat and concentrate on his smooth strokes over my head.
I’m one of the lucky ones. Far too many soldiers lost their lives tonight. They fought with bravery, but they shouldn’t have needed to fight at all. We took time for granted, thinking we could fortify Basecamp in the coming days, but the Allaji acted on our weaknesses. I should have never let this happen.
The medical facility’s door flies open, and my stomach turns with fear that more wounded are arriving. Kyron steps inside with Greer and Terro. Blood, sweat, and dirt cover them from head to toe, and exhaustion plagues their faces. This is a battle that none of them are soon to forget.
